Harold Washington is elected as the first African American mayor of Chicago

April 12, 1983Harold Washington is elected as the first African American mayor of Chicago

Harold Washington wins the general election for mayor of Chicago on April 12, 1983 with 52% of the vote, defeating Bernard Epton (Republican) and Ed Warren (Socialist Workers). He is inaugurated at Navy Pier on April 29, 1983. Washington goes on to lead the movement for Illinois' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Bill.